


Give Me a Reason: Missed Opportunity

by DeansArie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, Supernatural Elements, time stamp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:51:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23501830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeansArie/pseuds/DeansArie
Summary: Outside forces keep Naythin from meeting the missing piece in his life...for now.
Relationships: Dean Winchester/Original Male Character(s), Naythin Emerson/Dean Winchester
Kudos: 3
Collections: Give Me A Reason 'Verse





	Give Me a Reason: Missed Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> This is a time stamp for the fic Give Me a Reason. It takes place in 2006 right after the episode Croatoan.

December 2006

Saturdays were normally Daddy and Bree days but with work being called off due to a supplier not being able to deliver, Naythin kept Bree home from daycare to spend the day with him. 

Naythin didn’t get to see his daughter much during the week with how busy work had been lately. So, today, they were going to spend the day Christmas shopping and eating everything his wife, Ash, said was bad for Bree. Which was a lot. Yeah, okay...his daughter was three years old but, come on. What kid didn’t like ice cream sundaes covered with Captain Crunch cereal? 

“Do not feed her junk, Naythin. I mean it.” Ash scolded as she struggled to put her daughter’s coat on and zipped it up. “Hold still Bree.” 

“Yes, Momma.” Bree tried hard to not fidget. She was very excited to be spending the day with her Daddy and not having to go to daycare. Oh, she loved her teacher and her friends but Bree loved her Daddy even more. 

“Okay.” Nodding, he made a silly face at Bree which made his daughter giggle and reach up for him. Naythin tried to hide the smirk at his wife’s exasperated sigh. Yeah, Bree was Daddy’s girl. Always had been. Which seriously pissed his wife off. Not that the woman was mother of the year material from the get go. 

“Daddy! GO! We go now!” Bree grabbed Naythin’s hand and started to drag him toward the door before Ash could get her knit hat snugly on her head. 

Chuckling lightly, Naythin snatched his Carhartt jacket from the back of the couch as he was led through the cabin and to the front door by his pint sized boss. “Yes ma’am. We’re goin’ anywhere you wanna go today.” 

He could feel the death glare Ash aimed at the back of his head. Honestly, today he couldn’t be bothered to care. Today was his day with his best girl and he wasn’t going to let his shrew of a wife spoil it. 

After getting Bree buckled into the car seat in his truck, Naythin planted a noisy, wet kiss on the little girl's forehead. “Eww...ucky!” Bree squealed as she tried to scrub the kiss from her skin. 

“What? Uucky? You think Daddy’s kisses are ucky?” He feigned a shocked look on his face as he pulled his head back and grabbed at his chest. “I thought you loved Daddy?” His bottom lip protruded in a perfect imitation of his daughter’s best pout. 

“‘Course I wuv Daddy. Dis muches!” Spreading her arms as wide as she could, Bree grinned up at her father. 

“Dat muches, huh?”

“Yup. Dis muches!” She replied grinning wide. Her eyes sparkling with mischief even in the overcast weather. 

Nodding, Naythin leaned back in to steal another kiss. “I love you dis muches, too.” He knew Ash would skin him alive for _encouraging the baby talk_. Hell, his little girl was only going to be this little for a short time. There was no rush for her to grow up. 

Making sure he had his cell phone, Naythin closed the door and quickly made his way around the front of the truck so Bree could see him before climbing in the cab of the truck and closing his own door. Firing up the engine, he patted Bree’s knee, put the transmission in drive and headed down the long driveway to the road. 

He didn’t have to ask Bree where she wanted to go to lunch. McDonald’s was her favorite place to go because of the indoor play area. Bree could yell and run around to her heart’s content without having her mother telling her to stop making so much noise. The kid was three for fuck’s sake. She made noise. It was what kids did. 

Even as young as she was, Bree already knew what she could and couldn’t do around her mother. For the most part. There were a few slips and more than a few “Daddy said I could’s” which led to some pretty nasty arguments. None of which they had around Bree. That was probably the only thing they agreed on 100%. No fighting around their daughter. 

Heading straight to the mall, Naythin wanted to get the shopping out of the way before the rest of the holiday horde had the same idea. He already had a few of Bree’s gifts hidden at his office at work. 

The Barbie Dream House complete with Barbies and every accessory imaginable led to an argument with one of his brothers-in-laws, Connor. He never got along with Connor. The guy was not the brightest bulb on the tree but, for the sake of the family...okay, for Bree’s sake and his mental sanity, he did his best to get along with the guy. 

Connor and Dylan both knew Naythin’s _secret_. Dylan was decent about it but Connor held it over Naythin’s head and threatened to “out” him constantly. Naythin was bi. Yes, he was married and had a kid but that didn’t change anything about his sexuality. Ash had tricked him one night when he was home on leave for a high school buddies wedding. It was the one and only time he’d come home after enlisting in the Marines right after High School. 

Naythin had cut loose and ended up getting drunk. Really, really drunk. To the point where he’d actually fallen for Ash’s advances and believed her when she’d said she was on the pill. Yep, he was a dumbass and three months later, Ash had flown out to North Carolina and dropped the bomb on him. 

_“Naythin, I’m pregnant.” _

_He choked on his beer and gawked at her. His eyes darted to her still very flat stomach several times. “Are uh…” Shit, shit, shit. “Are you sure?” His voice rose an octave as he rubbed the palms of his hands over the tops of his thighs. _

_Nodding curtly, Ash sat up as straight as possible. “Yes. I do not sleep around. You’re the only man I’ve slept with in the past year.” _

_“You uh, ya don’ seem...happy about it. Do, do you wanna keep it?” There was a part of him that wished she’d say no and he’d do whatever he could to help her out but, there was another part of him that wanted her to say yes. He, to this day, couldn’t explain it really. No one had ever loved him, really. His aunt and uncle did and his cousin, who he hadn’t seen since they’d moved out east when they were kids. He knew they did. They’d helped out a few times when his parents got too out of hand with their version of discipline. _

_“Yes. Of course I want to keep our baby.” She’d reached across the table, her palm up and wiggled her fingers. At best, she’d been a one night stand, now Naythin was going to be a father and they didn’t know each other. _

_Clearing his throat, he raised a hand and gave Ash’s a squeeze. “Okay. Okay, good. Um, well. I can get the paperwork started to get you on my file as a dependent. No off base housing for single Marines though. We’ll uh...we’ll figure it out.” _

_Laughing, Ash pulled her hand free. “I’m not going to be a military wife.” _

__Wait...WIFE? What the fuck?_ “Oh?”_

_“No. No, if you want to be a part of this child’s life, you will leave the military and come back to Tillamook. If not, you’ll never see him or her.”_

And there it was. Fucking bitch. Because Naythin wanted to do right by his child he agreed to not sign the reenlistment papers and leave the Marines when his six years was up. For years, he kicked his own ass for not standing up to Ash and telling her to kiss his ass and stay in the Marines like he’d planned to do until he was too old and they kicked him out. 

Now, looking at his little girl as she kicked her feet against the base of her car seat and sang to the soundtrack of Happy Feet, he wouldn’t change anything.

[ ](https://imgur.com/tadqp4L)

Three hours later and one meltdown in the middle of Build A Bear, Naythin carried Bree and the bags of presents he’d bought out to the truck. Bree clutched the floppy eared bunny in a pink tutu. Oh yeah...he was gonna catch Hell for that. Same day, same shit. He couldn’t do anything right as far as Ash and her family were concerned. On the rare occasion that Dylan stuck up for him, everyone looked at him like he’d grown a second head and horns. No one spoke to Dylan for weeks after those occasions.

Stopping at McDonald’s for lunch, Naythin turned Bree loose in the play area while he ordered their food. He kept an eye on her through the large glass windows, a permanent smile on his face. When their food was ready, he carried the tray into the play area and called for Bree. “C’mon Firebug! Come eat then you can play some more.” 

“Daddy!” Bree whined from the top of the play structure as she peered out one of the clear bubble windows down at him. 

Sighing, Naythin sat back and looked up at his daughter. “Breena Emerson!” His arms crossed over his chest, he narrowed his eyes are he added his _I am so not screwing around young lady_ look at her. 

Huffing, the little girl turned away from the window. “Fine!” 

Shaking his head, he turned in his seat and started to get her food set up so she could dig right in. He waited for his daughter to hit the bottom of the slide before getting the booster seat ready. “C’mon kiddo. You can go back an’ play when yer done eating.” 

Naythin made sure to bring Bree’s favorite sippy cup with. Correction...big girl cup though it had a straw attached so she wouldn’t spill anything. He smirked at the way his daughter glared at the offending bottle her apple juice was currently in. “Daddy, where my cup?”

“I got it right here, bug.” Taking the cup out of Bree’s Happy Feet back pack, he poured her juice, resealed the cup, popped the straw up and handed it over. “There ya go.” 

“Tank you, Daddy.” 

“Yer welcome, bug.” 

The rest of their meal went better than Naythin could have hoped. Even with the arrival of several other kids, Bree finished everything in record time. After wiping her hands and mouth and tossing the crumpled napkin on the table, Bree announced “All done! I go play? Pees Daddy? Pees?” 

Smiling wide, Naythin got to his feet and unbuckled Bree from the booster seat. Setting her on the floor, he held her hand tightly until Bree looked up at him. “Play nice, Bree. I’ll be right here.” 

“I will. I will. I go play now?” The little girl jumped up and down. Her long red hair confined in two braids bounced against her back. 

“Have fun.” With that, he released Bree’s hand and watched her run for the nearest entrance to the play structure. 

“Your daughter is very well mannered.” 

Naythin turned to face the woman who had spoken to him. “Thank you. She’s being pretty good today. Only one melt down.” He chuckled lightly as he turned back to the table and started to clean up. 

When he returned from throwing the trash away, the woman was still standing there looking at him. “Can I...help you with something?” He had the odd feeling he should know the woman. 

“I’m sorry. I…” Sighing heavily, the woman looked up as a boy came down the slide and ran back around the front of the structure only to disappear inside once again. “I didn’t mean to bother you but, I saw the jacket you’re wearing. My brother works for the same company and I haven’t heard from him in a couple days. I was wondering if you knew him. His name is Gary Hodges.” 

A blind man could see the worry eating at the woman. “Um...do you know what project he’s working on? We have a few going on right now.” 

“He said he was working inside finishing a remodel on some big house.” The woman shrugged helplessly. Even she knew the information wasn’t much to go on. 

Nodding slowly, Naythin racked his brain trying to remember the remodels they were currently finishing. “Wait...big old Victorian. Needed a complete redo on the wiring and plumbing.” 

“Yes! That’s the one. Gary, he’s a plumber. Sorry, I probably should have told you sooner.” 

“No. No, it’s okay. I don’ personally know all the contractors we have but I’ve run into Gary a few times. Good guy, knows his sh...stuff.” He glanced toward the group of kids that included his Bree as they ran squealing past them and dived into the ball pit. 

The woman scoffed when she caught Naythin in mid swear word and hit the brakes as the herd of kids ran past. “It’s okay. Mine have heard a lot worse.” 

“So has my daughter but that doesn’t mean my wife will understand if Bree picks up a new colorful word.” Shrugging, he held his hand out to the woman. “Naythin Emerson. The red streak is my daughter, Bree.” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Naythin. I’m Lynn Baxter and the three boys are Adam, Blake and Cody.” She shook Naythin’s hand and sat in the seat next to where Bree had been sitting. 

Naythin took a seat after checking on Bree to make sure she wasn’t starting a cult or something. “So, your brother. You said you haven’t heard from him in a few days?”

“Yeah, he lives in River Grove and I’ve tried to call but I only get that fast busy signal and his cell goes straight to voicemail. I’ve tried three times today already. I’m getting worried.” 

Nodding, Naythin tried to think of anyone else that might live in River Grove. He couldn’t think of anyone off the top of his head. “Have you tried going to his house? Or calling the police to do a welfare check?” 

Nodding, Lynn picked at a loose string on the sleeve of her coat. “I tried to go to his house. There was a roadblock. Said it was some kind of...quarantine and the sheriff ordered the road to be closed. It…” Shaking her head, Lynn lowered her eyes to the table. 

Lowering his head, Naythin tried to make eye contact. “It...what?” The roadblock thing was weird. There hadn’t been anything on the news about a quarantine. Especially if a whole town was involved. He had a feeling, Lynn wasn’t buying it either. 

“The people at the roadblock, they weren’t deputies. There were just a couple trucks blocking the road and that’s it. No signs before you got to it or anything.” 

Sighing heavily, Naythin shrugged one shoulder. “I’m sure if there was something to really worry about, we’d hear it on the news. Maybe it’s just getting underway and the CDC or whatever hasn’t gotten there yet. You know how spotty cell service can be out there. Maybe he jus’ went fishin’ an’ forgot to tell ya.” Naythin was trying to be optimistic. 

“Maybe.” Glancing at her watch, Lynn got to her feet. “C’mon boys! Time to go.” Turning back to Naythin, she held her hand out to him. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Emerson.” 

“Naythin, please and it was a pleasure to meet you too. I hope you hear from your brother soon.” Hearing the kids coming down the slide, Naythin pointed to Bree. “You too young lady. Time to go home.” 

It was easier to get Bree wrangled since the other kids were leaving too. Much to Naythin’s relief he had Bree bundled up and heading out the door with Lynn and her three boys. Before he turned to head for his truck, he called out to Lynn.

“I’ll make sure to tell your brother yer lookin’ for him tomorrow when I get to the site.” 

“Thank you. Hopefully I hear from him before then.” Lynn waved as she hustled her kids in the car and pulled away. 

“Daddy, I’m cold.” Bree tugged on his coat sleeve to get his attention. 

“What?” Shit. Naythin hadn’t realized just how long he’d been staring down the road toward the River Grove turn off. “Sorry, bug. Let’s get you in the truck and warmed up.” In a few minutes, they were heading down the road and out of town. Naythin kept looking in his rear view mirror toward the only road that led to River Grove. He didn’t stop looking back until he had to turn onto the road that led out of town and toward home.

[ ](https://imgur.com/tadqp4L)

“Give it a rest, Ash.” Naythin whispered as he closed Bree’s door and started walking down the hall toward the kitchen.

“I will not.” His wife followed hot on his heels stopping only when they reached the kitchen. “I told you not to feed her junk. McDonald’s classifies as junk, Naythin.” 

Counting to three, Naythin turned and faced his wife. “She was an angel all day.” Naythin left out the melt down in Build A Bear. “That’s why she got the bunny. As a reward for being so good in the mall.” 

“Bribery.” Ash huffed, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Nice.” 

“She’s three years old, Ash. Jesus Christ, let her be a kid while she still can. Before we know it, she’s going to be gone off to college and we’ll only see her on Christmas break, if we’re lucky. You know how large crowds scare her. She was so good, YOU should be proud of her instead of bitching about everything.” Stepping close to Ash, his voice got louder with each word until it was booming through the cabin. 

“Daddy?” 

The quiet voice of his daughter calling for him had Naythin exhaling in a rush and bowing his head. “Coming bug!” As he turned to leave the kitchen, Ash stopped him though he didn’t turn to face her. 

“This discussion is not over!” She whisper-yelled to him. 

As far as Naythin was concerned it was. 

He read two stories to Bree to get her back to sleep after explaining that sometimes Mommies and Daddies talk really loud. It broke Naythin’s heart for his daughter to ask him if Mommy was made at him because he bought the bunny and he could take it back. Naythin knew Bree loved the bunny and no, he told her Mommy wasn’t mad about the bunny and he wasn’t taking it back to the store. He told Bree how proud he was of her for being such a good girl that day. 

Naythin didn’t leave his daughter’s room until he knew she was fast asleep and wouldn’t wake up when he moved. Sneaking out of her room, he closed the door and made his way to the kitchen again. He half expected to find his wife sitting at the table waiting for him. 

When not only the kitchen but the family room was empty as well, Naythin was shocked. “Huh.” Maybe he’d dodged a bullet. 

“Is she finally asleep?”

So much for dodging a bullet. Sonofabitch!

Turning, he faced his wife who was wearing her pajamas and long terry cloth robe. Her hair wrapped in a towel. “Yeah, she’s asleep and no, we’re not continuing the discussion. I’m sorry I got loud but...that’s all I’ll apologize for Ash.” Putting his hands on his hips, Naythin sighed as he braced himself for Hurricane Ash. 

“Naythin…” 

“No. I’m done. I’m going...out. Don’ wait up for me.” He knew if he didn’t leave, she’d just keep on bitching and he’d about had his limit for one night. 

Turning before she could say any more, Naythin grabbed his keys, jacket and phone. He was out the door, down the front steps and to his truck before Ash hit the porch. He didn’t look at her as he started the truck and headed down the driveway. His grip on the steering wheel turning his knuckles white from the strain. He was surprised the plastic didn’t snap in his hands.

[ ](https://imgur.com/tadqp4L)

Naythin didn’t stop until he reached the office on the site he was working on. He waved at the night guard as the man approached? “Hey Steve. Just checking on some work I left on my desk. Couldn’t sleep.”

“Hey Mr. Emerson. Okay, I’ll keep an eye on yer truck for ya. Let me know when you leave, okay?”

“Sure thing!” Naythin called out as he walked along the pallet walkway to the metal steps of the mobile office they used on the site. Unlocking the door, he went straight to his desk and pulled out the list of contractors the company was currently using. He scanned for Hodges Plumbing and tapped the paper as he dialed the number on his desk phone. He was hoping he’d get through on the land line at least. 

Sighing heavily, Naythin tried the number two more times with the same result; fast busy signal. “What the hell?”

He pulled out the phone book and yes, despite the increasing reach of the internet, people still used phone books. Naythin called several businesses that should be open only to come to the same result. Fast busy signal or the annoying “All circuits are busy, please try your call again later.” 

“Fuck it.” Finding the main number for the sheriff station in River Grove, Naythin sat back and counted the number of rings. When he got to 6 he was tempted to hang up until someone answered and he jumped to his feet. 

“Sheriff's office.” 

“Holy shit, you answered!” Naythin half yelled in the poor guy's ear. 

“Uh, yeah? Why wouldn’t we answer?”

Sitting back in his desk chair, Naythin racked the fingers of his free hand through his hair. “Listen, I’m tryin’ to get a hold of one’a my employees, Gary Hodges. He owns Hodges Plumbing. Is there a way you can send an officer to check on him?”

“Sure buddy, we’ll send someone right out to his place. Don’t worry.” 

Pulling his head back, Naythin frowned deeply. Weird. Wasn’t exactly what he’d expected. “Uh, great, thanks. His address is…” Naythin never got the chance to finish before the call ended with a muffled click in his ear. “The hell?” He tried to call back only to get the same fast busy signal as before. 

Hanging up the phone, he stared at it for a minute before shaking his head and getting to his feet. Checking the clock on the wall, he swore under his breath. It was after three in the morning. He was sleeping on the couch when he got home. 

Gathering his cell phone and keys, he made his way back outside to find Steve checking a section of fence near the equipment shed. “There a problem?” He called out as he made his way across the gravel parking lot. 

“Looks like someone tried to cut through the fence.” Holding the bottom section away, Steven shined his flashlight on the cut pieces of fencing that covered about two feet of fence from the ground up. 

“Did they get in?” Naythin looked around the site, his eyes narrowing as he peered into the darkness. 

Shaking his head, Steve let the section of fence fall back into place. “I doubt it. They’d have to be pretty small to squeeze through that hole. Not to mention get shredded by the sharp ends.” 

The guy had a point. “Okay, I’ll go into the equipment shed and get some wire to tie that together until we can get it fixed more permanently tomorrow.” His boss was gonna love this. 

Of course the door for the shed had to be where no flood lights could reach it. It took Naythin three tries before he got his key in the padlock. That was after dropping his keys three fucking times. When did he get a serious case of butter fingers? To make matters worse, it started to rain...hard. “Seriously?!” He looked up at the heavens and glared. “You’re timing is impeccable!” 

The interior of the shed had a light so that made finding the spool of wire he needed along with the nippers easy. Carrying what he needed back outside, he found Steve was nowhere in sight. “Thanks, Steve. There goes your Christmas bonus, asshole.” Naythin grumbled under his breath as he started to patch the cut section of fence. 

By the time he was finished, he couldn’t feel his fingers and was shivering enough to make his teeth chatter. His hair was plastered to his scalp. It didn’t help matters to have cold rain running down the back of his neck soaking his t-shirt and the collar of his jacket. When Gary came back to work, Naythin was going to kick his ass. If he ever found out who cut the fence, they were paying to have the whole section replaced. Fucking assholes. 

Gathering up the spool of wire, nippers and the scrapes of wire to throw away, Naythin stood and headed for the shed. He stopped so suddenly, his upper body leaned forward from his momentum. Turning toward the street, he stared at the rain slick road, his eyes darting around looking for...something? Someone? He stood there for a full minute before he could move again and get back to the shed.

Making sure everything was put away, he nearly had a heart attack when Steve was suddenly standing in the doorway. “Jesus fucking Christ!” Naythin leaned against the bench, one hand gripping his chest to keep his heart from bursting through his rib cage. 

“You okay, Mr. Emerson?” 

“Great. Just recovering from a heart attack, Steve. You need something?” Naythin lowered his arm and took a deep, steadying breath. 

Shaking his head, Steven smiled wide. “No sir. Just makin’ sure yer okay.” 

“I’m...good. I’ll be out in a minute.” He turned to put the nippers back in the tool box when he heard the faint rumbling of a car’s engine. Naythin could tell it was heading their way by how loud the rumbling became. There was an unexplainable pulling sensation in the middle of his chest. As if it were trying to get him out of the shed. 

Lifting one hand, Naythin pressed it to his chest. “Steve...move.” His voice was flat and void of any emotion. 

“You okay, Mr. Emerson?” Steve moved, just not out of Naythin’s way. He moved _toward_ Naythin, blocking the door completely. 

Naythin slapped the man’s hand away. His breathing ramped up and there was this voice in his head screaming at him to get the fuck out of the shed _**NOW**_. “Move, Steve!” Naythin could still hear the rumble of the car’s engine. Except now it was moving away from him. _No!_

_RUN! RUN NOW!_ The voice wasn’t his own but Naythin didn’t question it. He tried to get by the guard and when he finally did, Naythin ran as fast as he could to the driveway where the gate was still open. His head whipped to the right and then the left. His breath coming out in white clouds of steam in the cold, damp night air. 

Naythin watched as a dark colored vehicle was just finishing the turn on the next block. The taillights bathed the area in an eerie red glow. The only part of any of the occupants he could see was the blurred image of the back of the driver's head. He watched until the car disappeared from sight and the road was empty once again. The pull he’d felt earlier slowly dissipated leaving him feeling as if he’d just missed something very important. 

“Do you know who that was, Mr. Emerson?” Steven asked. A smirk teasing at one corner of his lips. 

“No. No, I don’t. Have you seen that car before? Did you get a good look at it?” Not that Naythin could describe it to anyone clearly. It was dark colored, which could be anything from black to dark green to dark blue or any dark color for that matter. The shitty lighting didn't help any. 

Sniffing softly, Steve quickly hid his smirk by covering his mouth with one hand and clearing his throat. “No. No, I didn’t get a good look at it. Might have been the ones who tried to break in. I’ll keep an eye out in case they come back.” 

Nodding slowly, Naythin turned to leave. “They?” His brows furrowed deeply as he eyed Steve carefully. “How do you know it was more than one?” 

“Well, uh.” Shit. “It would have to be. Ya know...one to cut the fence and another to keep watch.” 

Sighing heavily, Naythin nodded in reluctant agreement. “Yeah, I guess. I’m uh, I’m goin’ home. ‘Night Steve.” 

“Have a good night, Mr. Emerson.” Steve waved as he watched Naythin climb into his truck and slowly pull out of the construction site. He followed behind and locked the gate making sure Naythin didn’t try to follow the Winchesters. 

“That was too close for comfort.” Gary Hodges, or his body anyway, appeared next to Steve. The man’s normally grey eyes turned black. 

“I know. It’s fine now though. Emerson went one way and the Winchesters went another. They won’t meet.” Steve’s eyes turned black as well as he hoped and prayed to Lucifer they’d stopped Dean Winchester and Naythin Emerson from ever meeting.


End file.
